We had some time in Downtown Knoxville and decided to check out the mansion. The staff are super…read morenice, and we enjoyed talking with them. We were given a tour with just our family which was really cool. We all really loved the tour. It was great for our son who could touch a lot of objects. They also had a table to try and write with a quill. I would recommend the mansion if you love history.

This is a very well landscaped and very well preserved mansion, that was Built-in 1792. Governor…read moreWilliam Blount and his family resided here.The mansion sits up on a Hill overlooking the Tennessee river. There are some very old antiques inside the mansion and most of the mansion is all original. All of the rooms were pretty large and had high ceilings about 10 ft. There are beautiful gardens out side and around the building. This mansion is located downtown Knoxville and the courthouse is right down the street. It was very cool to see how they lived way back then with no electric. They had candlelight chandeliers and wood burning stove. All their equipment they used to make their clothes and their food was all original as far as I know. There was 3 or 4 outside buildings as well that was used for their equipment and their work.

Today was amazing! We went to see a castle right here in Tennessee! Floyd "Junior" Banks built the…read morecastle out in Loudon County TN called the Greenback Castle or Fortress of Faith. He dedicated this castle to the Lord and encourages everyone to come out and see it for themselves. He never charges a fee to visit, but donations are very much appreciated. He was excited to meet us and take us for a tour. He is a fascinating gentleman with some really interesting stories. He built the castle himself with donated items over the past 30 years and still works on it. Junior told us he never used a level or measuring device, God guides him. He lives in a house nearby on the many acres of property. I highly recommend touring this incredible castle (AT YOUR OWN RISK) and spending some time listening to Junior. I immediately went on Amazon and bought 2 of his books because he was so intriguing. Fortress of Faith: Art, Science, and Divine Intervention at the Greenback Castle What In Another World Is Going On At The Greenback Castle?

(Not a restaurant) If you love the bizarre and unique visit…read morethe Greenback Castle. A retired old gentleman built this "art project " over 30+ years. And loves to greet people and explain the (mostly religious) meaning of all displays. Fun, weird, unique!

Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville's first builder, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander…read moreRamsey. The home is constructed of Tennessee pink marble and blue limestone. It was known at that time as the finest home in Tennessee. The structure is significant for its original interior and exterior architectural features and its period decorative art collection. The home is said to be haunted, and I feel quite drawn to it, and did feel a presence, will have to keep coming back. It sat empty for many years, and was refurbished in 1952. The Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities took it over. It is a historic treasure, you step back in time. They have tours go on their website, blacksmith class, music events, haunted tours, etc...

This is a great spot to learn a little more about the founding families of East Tennessee!…read moreFun fact, the Ramsey House has the first attached kitchen to a home in East TN because the stone house was less likely to burn down. They have great events all year long. Love the free vintage baseball games in the summer where they dress up all old timey and play without gloves. The candlelight tours around Halloween and Christmas are beautiful and actually different from the tours they give normally during the year so you can learn even more. Also love the Christmas marketplace and spring marketplace to shop local with a great variety of vendors. Staff is so nice and it's a great stop on a series of tours if you're interested in historic homes in the area.

I've been meaning to post this review for awhile. The museum is undergoing some renovations. It…read morewas enlightening to learn about more of the local history. We enjoyed a self guided tour of the home and a trip to the gift shop. General Longstreet was an excellent tactician with a heart for his men. It was interesting to learn that he was often in disagreement with General Lee, especially over Gettysburg and Pickett's Charge. After the War, he supported his longtime friend and once adversary, President Grant. He was also in support of Reconstruction and healing a nation. Glad to have this museum and the very helpful curator in our community.

Mr. William Nenney's house is probably not much to look at on the outside. It's not ostentatious…read more It's really rather simple. But the hard wood floors creak with charm and the small handful of Nenney family historical pieces bring it to life. Overall, it's very well preserved and chock-full of archives from the Civil War. Beyond showcasing Longstreet, actually the interior is full of information, anecdotes and historical tidbits about East Tennessee's fascinating role during several campaigns. And since I'm particularly intrigued with both those things this visit was a real treat for me! I told my tour guide that I was just passing through and that we needed to be quick. She understood and made accommodations. She was so sweet and just let me tour around the house at my pace while she stood nearby to answer questions. You can tell she really loved giving tours, especially to the school kids as she tells me. She says, "You realize, you are walking around the same place where Longstreet marched around in his boots. Right?" Well, yeah. When you put it that way it makes this house really cool. If you want you can time your visit around a reenactment which they host seasonally. Besides that, there's no blood or gore or big elaborate exhibit at this museum. Mainly just a select few artifacts and the rest is knowledge and oral storytelling and trinkets passed down from nearby families. At the adjacent visitor center you can pull out a read from one of the dozens of notebooks, binders, and archives of paper, print and historical record. It's really great preservation work. You'll just have to visit the Nenney house to see for yourself. There's lots to learn.

This is a museum in progress but it was still pretty decent. I liked that they included pottery and…read moreitems from more recent times to tie in with the past. Overall I do wish they didn't cover over some of the signage with paint but it's very reading intensive. Kids probably wouldn't find this as interesting Would love more interactive parts like being able to touch beading, playing cultural songs, I loved the portion where you hear their language by syllables Really interesting and the girl at the counter was super sweet. The gift shop was kind of expensive- a sticker was $6.. overall easy parking and access.

Having visited many years ago the museum is in transition. They have taken out many items and are…read morelooking to eventually build a new facility. It was an average experience but one bit too be missed if wanting educating on the Cherokees.

Took the moonshine and wine tour! It was such a great time!! We all laughed and joked. Tried a…read moreton of moonshine, some amazing wines, and even some hard ciders! Our whole tour had an absolute blast. We took snacks on the bus for during the drives between to help soak up some alcohol. It also helped cleanse the palate. Would definitely consider doing this again. I think I bought 2 hard ciders, a moonshine, and 4 bottles of wine.

Probably the best tour we have ever been on. The driver was a wealth of knowledge about the Smoky…read moreMountains, the history of early settlers, stories of how the national park came to be and of buildings we visited. Tennessee Mountain Tours is above every other tour company we have used before. I highly recommend booking their tours.

Best caverns we've ever toured! Barbara, our tour guide, was incredible. Extraordinary beauty and…read morenever felt claustrophobic. Huge inside. Absolutely beautiful. This was our most favorite part of our trip so far.

We really enjoyed this visit. It's a family owned establishment with a pretty cool origin story…read more And it's huge - so much larger than we imagined. Our young guide was great and shared so much information about the caverns. The tour is about an hour and a half and you'll def gets some steps in, along with some fairly steep staircases. But the views and the experience of being so far underground with all the natural beauty is absolutely worth it. Bring a sweater. Oh, and grab some fudge on your way in or out. Such a fun day!

Looking for a way to see the city and get some good info. This tour checked all the boxes. Our…read moredriver Matt was cool. Fun information. Highly recommend this tour. Very much worth the price.

The drivers are good about explaining each point of interest along the route. Our hotel was near…read morethe visitors center and we were able to walk there. There was no sidewalk as the entrance is in the back of the building. Plenty of parking if you drive there. We had to walk in the road. The stops were communicated but not well marked and no map to show exactly where they were located. We had tried walking to a stop but with no specific street address it was not possible. We returned to the place we were dropped off at a few minutes before the time the trolley was scheduled to leave and the trolley was pulling out. We were able to flag down the driver to finish our tour. The pass is good for 2 days so we may try to return to another area although it might be simpler to just drive. If Gray line posts maps with specific locations and adds a walkway at the visitors center it would vastly improve the experience.

I'm always all in when it comes to historic bridges especially when I can experience them first…read morehand and if I can walk across them then that's gets it to a entirely different level. I actually found this foot bridge by happenstance, I was driving down the highway and saw it connecting the two sides of the river, which is the intended purpose. Getting to this little gems is quite tricky and as you approach it on the residential side of the river you may be a little hesitant to pull into the narrow lane that sits between two homes but trust me the neighbors know what they have on the backside of their riverfront property - one friendly owner was outside and invited me in to check it out. These bridges are so cool but they were simply constructed to provide a solution which was "to get to the other side" I'm sure there is some correlation to "why did the chicken cross the road" but I'm not certain. The water below was running at a good pace and is very shallow you definitely wouldn't want to jump from or fall from this bridge the rocks would break you fall immediately after the splash. You could probably see everything you want to see here in about 10 minutes I stayed about 20 minutes - besides the bridge being super cool and the fact that it is historic there is more to it, the "love lock" phenomenon which symbolizes "unbreakable love" has attached itself to the structure. The love padlock phenomenon is like a weird alien growth that just won't die so think about this before placing your lock...

A little awkward to find but so beautiful!! It's lovely and well worth the hunt. Lots of fun. We…read morealso saw turtles near the creek below

Been driving through this part of Tennessee for the last 10 years or so and have been wanting to…read morevisit here that whole time. Finally made it. I've have visited 3 other shuttered prisons over the years and they all are pretty neat. This one was physically the smallest but was very impressive. We did like most folks and did the self guided tour. Took us about 2 hours and I think we visited everything that was open. They claimed that former staff or guides would be around to answer questions- sadly I never seen anyone. Now reasoning for my rating was based on not seeing staff for questions as well as the price. I know it's a neat historic place but $25 a person was a bit high. They did offer a small discount for military but again a self guided tour for $25 was a bit much. So I do recommend this historic place. But be aware of the cost and that your questions might not be answered.

What a cool stop!! Soooo much to see! The Jail, the offices, a dog rescue building and all the…read moregrounds with the original items. Not too far off the beaten path for driving and a beautiful area!